Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets is expected to be missing for both legs of his side's upcoming Europa League knockout round playoff with Manchester United.
The Spain international has again been a vital player for the Catalan giants during the 2022-23 campaign, featuring on 27 occasions in all competitions.
However, he had to be withdrawn in the early stages of Sunday's La Liga clash with Sevilla after picking up an ankle injury.
During his post-match press conference, Barcelona boss Xavi said: "Tests will be performed on Busquets tomorrow. He twisted his ankle. I guess he has a sprain, we'll see how severe it is."
According to the Manchester Evening News, the 34-year-old is expected to miss both legs of the Europa League contest with Man United this month.
Barcelona will face Villarreal in their next league game on February 12 before welcoming Man United to Camp Nou for the first leg of their knockout round clash on February 16; the two sides will then lock horns for the reverse match at Old Trafford on February 23.
Despite the disappointment of losing Busquets early in the contest, the Catalan outfit went on to beat Sevilla 3-0 to move eight points clear at the top of the La Liga table.
Barcelona have now won each of their last 10 matches in all competitions during an impressive run of form.
"We're happy with the match, but there's still a long way to go. It's important to win matches with comfortable scorelines. We created a lot of chances against a very low block. Things are starting to go well," Xavi added during his post-match press conference.
"We have a good winning streak going on, which reflects in the point difference. The second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth-placed teams all dropped points this match day. It's an important win.
"This is a proud day. We talked about it at half-time. We've made so much progress and I'm so happy. We did very well, a complete match.
"We didn't allow Sevilla to respond. We pressed very well for the whole match. We've had a lot of good matches that give us a lot of confidence for what's to come. I can see that the team is working perfectly, and the players are hungry for success.
"We're eight points clear of Madrid, but that means nothing now. We have to continue."
Ousmane Dembele is also currently on the sidelines for Barcelona, with the France international also expected to miss both matches against Man United due to a thigh issue. body check tags ::
